EVALUATION OF ‘JASPI’ AND ‘ISHTARA’ PLUM ROOTSTOCKS IN POLISH CLIMATICAL CONDITIONS

In an orchard experiment, two plum cultivars ‘Cacańska Rana’ and ‘Dąbrowice Prune’ grafted on vegetatively propagated rootstocks ‘Jaspi’ and ‘Ishtara’ were compared with trees of the same cultivars on Prunus cerasifera (Ehrh), var. divaricata (Led.) seedlings, and ‘Wangenheim Prune’ seedlings were treated as an additional control.
In spring of 2000, one-year-old trees were planted in the Central part of Poland on a podzolic soil at the density of 4.5 x 3.0 m.
The experiment was designed in four random blocks with three trees per plot.
The total number of 12 trees was investigated in each rootstock/cultivar combination.
During the first four years after planting, tree growth (expressed as trunk cross-sectional area and total length of 1-year-old shoots), yield, fruit weight and tree health status were recorded.
In the young orchard, plum trees on ‘Ishtara’ rootstock grew very intensively and they were very productive and produced high quality fruits with bigger average weight than those of trees grafted on other rootstocks.
Our preliminary results showed that ‘Jaspi’ was a less vigorous rootstock than ‘Ishtara’. It influenced yields of plum trees favourably, but it is not useful for growing in Polish climatical conditions, due to its lack of winter hardiness.
Many trees on this rootstock had one big or a few smaller barks splits on the lower part of the trunk and this caused the death of about 25% of trees.
Trees on other investigated rootstocks were very healthy.

VIII International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding and Pomology

Z.S. Grzyb, M. Sitarek

rootstocks evaluation, plum cultivars, tree health status

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.734.59